November 1, 2012

Senior Community Centers, a nonprofit provider of services to low-income seniors, raised more than $325,000 at its recent fundraiser, “Notes to our Sons and Daughters.” The fundraiser and photo exhibition was Oct. 11 at the Port Pavilion on Broadway Pier, and proceeds of the event support the works of San Diego Senior Community Centers, according to a release.

The exhibition consisted of stylized, black-and-white portraits by Philipp Scholz Rittermann, capturing the wisdom of some of the seniors who are served and helped by Senior Community Centers along with distinguished senior leaders of the community. Each photograph in the exhibit was accompanied by a note written by each subject revealing life lessons that have been collected throughout their lifetime to pass on to the next generation, or our “sons and daughters.”

The San Diego chapter of ARCS Foundation Inc. has awarded $232,500 in fellowships to support 31 graduate students at the University of California, San Diego, for the 2012-2013 academic year, according to a release. The ARCS Foundation, a national nonprofit volunteer womenís organization, provides awards to top students studying science, medicine and engineering. The local chapter has donated $3.8 million to support UC San Diego students since the chapter’s inception in 1985.

ARCS Foundation seeks to address the countryís continuing demand for researchers in science, engineering and medicine. At UC San Diego, the 2012 ARCS scholar awards will support graduate students studying in a wide range of disciplines, from public health to bioinformatics, and from oceanography to mechanical and aerospace engineering.

The Escondido Charitable Foundation, an affiliate of The San Diego Foundation, awarded $185,000 at the 2012 Grants Celebration held at Vineyard Golf Course on Oct. 25. In addition to $30,000 in grants donated in June, the foundation's grants mark the largest funding amount in a single year by any community affiliate foundation, according to a release.

The San Diego Center for Children will hold its annual Walk for Kids at 7 a.m. on Saturday, according to a release.

A fundraising event to benefit the center, Walk for Kids brings together the children at the center and supporters from the community for a 5K walk around Mission Bay.

This year's walk celebrates the 125th anniversary of the center, San Diego’s oldest accredited nonprofit children’s organization that helps children thrive whose trauma, abuse or mental health challenges are delaying their ability to succeed.

The organization has a goal of reaching $125,000 to support the programs and services for the children and teens at the center.

Attendees can walk or run around the Mission Bay boardwalk and join the post-walk festivities.

La Jolla-based charitable organization Heels2Heal has announced that its third annual Fashion Show Gala will benefit Miracle Babies, a San Diego nonprofit that provides financial assistance to families with critically ill newborns in the neonatal intensive care unit.

Heels2Heal, founded in 2009, aims to raise funds for charities that are making a difference in the San Diego community. Its event will take place on Saturday from 5:30 to 11 p.m. at a private estate in La Jolla and will feature an interactive-style fashion show by New York-based designer Nellie Partow.

Community members will gather for an evening of live entertainment, fashion and cocktails while bidding on silent auction items. Heels2Heal has a fundraising goal of $100,000 for Miracle Babies.

Tickets are $150, with VIP admission available for $200, and are on sale now at heels2heal.org.

Reboot, a three-week workshop provided by the National Veterans Transition Services Inc. that helps veterans ease back into civilian life, has received grants from Fleet Week San Diego and the Ford Fund, according to a release.

Fleet Week San Diego donated $19,000 to the service as part of its continuing mission to honor, celebrate and support the men and women of the military, while the Ford Fund donated $10,000 to sponsor four students to participate in the Reboot program, including a veteran and his wife. Reboot workshops are available free of charge for employed veterans, active-duty personnel and spouses.

For more information on the workshops, to donate or to register for a workshop, visit nvtsi.org.

The San Diego Rescue Mission, in recognition of the dozens of people who died homeless in the community this past year, will hold its 12th annual Interfaith Candlelight Vigil on Sunday, according to a release.

About 250 people will gather for the procession, which will depart from the San Diego Rescue Mission at 3:15 p.m., and walk approximately a mile, stopping for prayers at various churches and ministry sites on the way to the San Diego County Administration Center. The candlelight vigil at the center aims to remind the community of the 10,000 men, women and children living each day homeless in San Diego who should not have to die on the streets.

The San Diego Rescue Mission is a faith-based organization that offers safe-haven as well as restorative care and rehabilitation services to the homeless, addicted, abused and poor in the community.